I've been a Saints fan since the late 70's / early 80's, but had never attended a game at the Dome until 2003 (but I've been to many since then). I can't say I've found anything wrong with the Dome at all. The sightlines are good, my seats have always been comfortable, and the Dome's location is excellent in regards to the downtown area.

Sure, the Dome is the third-oldest stadium in use by an NFL team, but that doesn't mean it's ready for the wrecking ball. If more luxury boxes and premium seats are desired, go ahead and add them, but I see no need to build an entirely new stadium. Especially given the numerous issues surrounding the state/city finances.

The Dome is a great football stadium with alot of significant tradition. Beyond holding a special place in the hearts of Saints fans, great Super Bowl and Sugar Bowl games have taken place there. I'd like to see that tradition continue.

First off, if we have to buy a new stadium, I agree with whoever mentioned the no additional payments plan, and I would try to push to make it a place where people would want to spend the whole day tailgating etc.

I would rather see the dome renovated for the tradition, spirit, etc. I like that it is rough; its exactly like our team. Plus, moving the games outside of the city will move all of those jobs and all of the food and beverage dollars away from the city, which is one of the big positives of having an nfl team in your city. Maybe Benson wants to corner the action on food and stuff as well, who knows.

I want a new stadium, period. I want something more like what the old Tulane Stadium used to be. Really, there's no comparison. Games really lose something (for me) when they are indoors. Kinda like arena football.

Would you rather see a game in the Superdome or Death Valley? For me, that question is a no-brainer.

The Dome stinks. I won't attend another game in there, not unless the crew gets together to do a Black and Gold game there. It'll be HDTV for me from now on.

The main problem with an outdoor stadium in South Louisiana is that 10 of the 17 weeks will be blistering hot (mid-90's), middle of the day, mosquitos swarming, and unbelievably humid. A sauna with mosquitos.

Sept-Oct-Nov-Dec aren't as bad for weather, though obviously it'll rain a third of the games, and the mosquitos will be feasting regardless.

But back to which platform I support, football is an outdoor sport to me. With or without a retractable roof. Being in the rain (or even snow, or sub 30 temperatures, or mud, or sweltering heat) is part of the experience for me.

I don't claim to be the average fan, though. I know most family oriented groups would shy away from this.

But domes suck, in my opinion. They lose something critical. Might as well just watch it on TV.

I for one love the dome. When the crowd gets into it and the noise level goes up it's great. I can understand the desire for an outside stadium but yeah that will hurt ticket sales to be in the heat and rain. and having a retractible roof puts you right back into a dome. I'd say renovate the Dome until a good long term deal can be worked out that doesn't bleed the taxpayers. Why should the state pay for a new stadium for one team? If benson shells out the cash then we wouldn't even have this disscussion.

I was all for rennovating the dome before Bensons last spew. Now i feel that there is no point in renovating the dome with 185 million dollars if it is only going to be good for 4 or 5 years before he starts *****ing again. I am for taking that money and raising more...having Benson kick in a little, and build a new retractable roof venue on the river attached to the convention center. I love the dome, but i love the Saints more.

I for one don't want a new stadium. Renovate the dome. People are in the building for 4 maybe 5 hours 10 (I wish it were more like 12 on a regular basis) times a year. The only complaint I've ever had about the place were the lack luster quality of the diamond vision screens. The league still loves the location for the Superbowl and everyone who visits has very few negative things to say about the place (I'm sure someone will say well why hasn't the city been awarded another one yet, and I believe its because the league has to stand behind its owners and not the quality of the dome)

Now for that average temperature listing :
Where did you find that info, cause it seems a little off. I think are those averages of day and night temps? Since it just didn't seem right, I had to look it up.
Month High Low
May 85 66
June 89 72
July 91 74
Aug 91 74
Sept 87 71
Oct 80 60
Nov 71 51
Dec 65 46

And lets not forget humidity. Now the dome on the other hand is always 72 degrees. And while a retractable roof would be great, often times it would be a game time decision, and I doubt that the AC would be able to cool the outdoor air in any reasonable amount of time, while it would also act to keep in the bugs.

Another issue is the destruction of wetlands it may require to build a new stadium. While I am not completly certain of the proposed location, I believe much like the Walmart on tchopitoulous some serious mitigation would be necessary to build (i.e. the same thing would happen if they built the airport in its current proposed location) In which case, the federal government would have another reason to say why should we help you rebuild wetlands when your destroying them to build stuff.